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Ragan Insider   |  {/%BYLINE%} {%AUTHOR%}Kevin Allen{/%AUTHOR%} {%TITLE%}News crew robbed while reporting on 'sketchy neighborhoods' app{/%TITLE%} {%ALTERNATIVEURL%}{/%ALTERNATIVEURL%} {%IMAGE%}/Uploads/Public/SketchFactor.jpg{/%IMAGE%} {%ROLE%}87d65c27-6e78-4e5c-b423-78d47d4f2768{/%ROLE%} {%KICKER%}Marketing{/%KICKER%} {%CATEGORIESID%}1fd4d0a9-bbe2-4b5c-af5c-11dce5b9983e{/%CATEGORIESID%} {%CAPTION%}The app's creators have also been fielding claims of racism since it was introduced, putting them on the defensive.{/%CAPTION%} {%BODYCOPY%}An app that shows users where “sketchy” neighborhoods are has been getting a barrage of negative publicity. But not all of the negative publicity has been completely bad for the company. While everyone seems to collectively agree that we’re talking about the app SketchFactor, a Washington D.C. news crew didn’t actually name the app when they went to report on it, got robbed. Check out the story here: Unfortunately, the neighborhood the crew went to was being reported as a relatively safe one on the app. That's not a great endorsement. The folks behind the app are now defending it against claims that it’s racist, such as this one: . @sketchbegone so, who came up w/ the blackface logo for your app shaming poor minority neighborhoods? #sketchfactor pic.twitter.com/G2lC5pDIEa — Ryder Cobean (@ryderdavid) August 8, 2014 The team has responded on its website to all the haters: We have a reporting mechanism for racial profiling, harassment, low lighting, desolate areas, weird stuff, you name it. When people actually download the app, they see that this is truly a tool for everyone. “These hit pieces have attacked the founders personally. We get it, they need clicks. However, the reporters of these pieces never contacted us, never interviewed us,, the app wasn't even live when they wrote it... People are entitled to their opinions. That's legit. But slamming SketchFactor without having a conversation is unprofessional. The app, which, again, wasn’t named in that D.C. news report, has an average of three stars in the App Store, based on 200-plus reviews after going live Aug. 8. What do you think, PR Daily readers? Is this app's marketing a total disaster?{/%BODYCOPY%} {%ID%}17074{/%ID%} {%DATAID%}6d31dee9-0bd9-4e7b-b997-8cc848a67c14{/%DATAID%} {%CanonicalUrl%}{/%CanonicalUrl%} {%PUBLISHDATE%}8/13/2014 1:45:26 PM{/%PUBLISHDATE%} {%LINK%}https://dev.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/17074.aspx{/%LINK%} {%BYLINE%}Neil Desai

News crew robbed while reporting on ‘sketchy neighborhoods’ app

The app’s creators have also been fielding claims of racism since it was introduced, putting them on the defensive.